A palindrome is a word or words which read the same forwards and backwards: level, deed, Anna, Eve, Abba. That last word isn’t even English. It is an Aramaic word we find in several places in the NT. But all of those are Biblical palindromes.
The Greek preposition alla means but, however, nevertheless. It is a Greek palindrome (like eme, the word me in the accusative case).
There is only one proper name in the NT that is a palindrome, Anna, the prophetess (Luke 2:36-38). It is a palindrome in both English and Greek.
While palindromes probably don’t have a lot of significance in interpretation, I think they have some. They draw attention to the word. They have a pleasant sound: AB-BA, AN-NA, Lev-vel. In the case of Anna Luke tells us about Simeon first, thus placing a bit more emphasis on Anna, especially when he gives us her name when there was no reason to do so.
As Bible teachers to your children, Sunday school, Bible studies, discipleship groups, etc., I suggest you point out interesting palindromes. They make your message more memorable. It would even be a good entry for evangelism. You could start, “Do you know the only proper name in the NT that is a palindrome? It is a woman’s name. One associated with the baby Jesus and the temple.”
Say you are teaching about the prophetess who prophesied when the 40-day-old baby Jesus was brought to the temple. If you want your readers to remember her name, and God certainly wants us to remember her name as a Godly example to us, then pointing out that her name is a palindrome in Greek and English will lock it in. I doubt anyone will forget then.
By the way, did you know that there is one language which is a palindrome? It is Malayalam. It is a language spoken in a region of Southern India with a long history of Christianity. I’ve spoken via translator at such churches and I always enjoy it thoroughly.
I suggest you make up a Biblical list of palindromes. It will hone your skills at observing the text.
